Combined grapple and back-up tong



Dec. 8, 1970 B. F. KELLEY- COMBINED GRAPPLE AND BACK-UR T ONG 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 30, 1969 l m nl i i 1| h 4 A Nd W m WF 0 m Mn/w & ,0. m

ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1970 B. F. KELLEY COMBINED GRAPPLE AND BACK-UP TONG 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 50, 1969 K 0 m 52 K m ma w .m+7 m 4 .a

0 w 6 u B mv ATTORNEYS United States Patent Cffice 3,545,313 PatentedDec. 8, 1970 US. Cl. 81-57.34 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In gasand oil field practice, a combined grapple for rotating a drill pipe ortubing and a back-up tong for holding a coupling on the tubing againstrotation. The frame that carries the grapple also prevents the back-uptong. from rotating about the axis of' rotation of the grapple, but theback-up tong and grapple frame are movable relative to each other alongthat axis, and the back-up tong is slidable toward and away from thataxis. The tong has specially articulated and hydraulically actuatedgripping jaws to engage and grip in principal portion of the peripheryof coupling.

The present invention relates to grapples and backup tongs for use ingas and oil well drilling operations. In such an environment, arotatable grapple is provided for rotating a length of drill pipe ortubing so as to screw it into or unscrew it from a drill stem couplingor the like; while a back-up tong is provided which holds the couplingagainst rotation.

In my earlier Pat. No. 3,371,562, issued Mar. 5, 1968, there isdisclosed a grapple construction which rotates within a frame that canbe held stationary while a length of tubing is gripped and rotated. Sucha grapple, or another form of grapple rotatable within a stationaryframe or casing, is to be used in the present invention; andaccordingly, reference is made to the grapple of my aboveidentifiedearlier patent for a fuller disclosure in this regard. It willaccordingly be unnecessary to disclose further details of the grapple,and these are omitted so as to simplify the disclosure of the presentapplication.

In the past, back-up tongs which are used in connection with grapples,for the purpose of holding one portion of a screw-threaded connectionstationary while the grapple rotates another portion of thescrew-threaded connection, have conventionally taken the form of a handtong, suspended from above, and anchored by a line to an end of thehandle of the tong, the line in turn being anchored to a rigid portionof the derrick which supports the assembly. The tong is thus held in onedirection against rotation when the grapple is rotated. However, if thegrapple is to be rotated in the opposite direction, then the line has tobe detached and extended in the opposite direction and again anchored.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a combinationgrapple and back-up tong which is torque free in the sense that it doesnot require external anchoring in order for the grapple and tong toexert great torque relative to each other.

Anoher object of the present invention is the provision of;:a combinedgrapple and back-up tong which are conveniently vertically adjustablerelative to each other.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of such acombination in which the back-up tong is of simplified construction andoperation thanks to its relationship to the rest of the assembly.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combinedgrapple and back-up tong which will be relatively simple and inexpensiveto manufacture, easy to assemble, position, operate, maintain andrepair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined grapple and back-up tongaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view principally of the tong portion of theassembly, with the tong engaged and the tong and grapple relativelyspaced apart;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the tong retracted;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tong portion of the assembly, in theposition of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the tong partlyretracted; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 but showing the tong fullyretracted.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIG.1 a frame 1 including a housing 3 in which is disposed a grapple as inmy above-identified patent, which surrounds and grasps and rotates alength of tubing 5 relative to a drill stem coupling 6. Frame 1 issupported by a standard 7 having a plurality of holes 9 through a plateat its upper end, in a selected one of which is disposed the pin 11carried at the lower end of a piston rod 13 whose piston is disposed ina cylinder which is not shown but which is above the top of FIG. 1.Hydraulic fluid under pressure operates this cylinder and pistonassembly and is also conveyed by conduits 15 to a control bank 16 fromwhich the elevation of frame 1 may be controlled and also the operationof the grapple and back-up tong.

Suspended from frame 1 is a back-up tong illustrated generally at 17,whose body is in the from of a sleeve 19 slidable on a horizontal shaft21 which is secured to and extends radially from a vertical sleeve 23.Sleeve 23, in turn, is vertically slidably disposed on a downwardly extending shaft 25 which is fixedly secured to frame 1. Sleeve 23 andshaft 25 are parallel to the axis of rotation of the grapple. The weightof the tong is supported by parallel vertical rods 27 that are securedto sleeve 19 and that are surrounded and urged upwardly by coilcompression springs 29 that in turn are supported at their lower ends onears 31 that extend outwadly from straps 33 that depend fom oppositesides of an axle that carries trolley rollers 35 that ride on ahorizontal track 37 supported at its opposite ends between brackets 39that are in turn fixedly secured to the underside of frame 1. Springs 29are fully collapsed when they support only a portion of the weight oftong 17.

Turning now to the particular structure of tong 17, it will be notedthat sleeve 19 thereof has oppositely outwardly extending ears 41thereon, between each vertically spaced pair of which is pivotallymounted an arm 43 intermediate its lentgh. At each forward end of eacharm 43, a jaw 45 is pivotally mounted, each jaw 45 in turn beingpivotally connected to a jaw 47, the two jaws 47 in turn being pivotallyinterconnected with each other. When the forward ends of arms 43 areswung toward each other, as in FIG. 4, then the jaws 45 and 47 assume asubstantially circular configuration in gripping arrangement about thecoupling 6. When the arms 43 are somewhat swung apart at their forwardends, then the jaws 5 and 47 have the configuration shown in FIG. 5. Butwhen the arms 43 are fully swung apart at their forward ends, then notonly are the jaws 45 swung still farther apart, but also the jaws 47 areopened somewhat, thereby to provide for full release of the jaws fromthe tubing.

Power means are provided for swinging the arms 43 about their pivots onears 41, comprising a pair of horizontal cylinders 49 disposed one aboveand one below the sleeve 19, perpendicular to the axis of rotation ofthe grapple, and also perpendicular to sleeve 19. Both cylinders '49 arepivotally interconnected to the rear end of one arm 43 by means of anupright bracket 51 by which the closed ends of cylinders 49 are rigidlyinterconnected. Each cyclinder 49 has a piston and piston rod 53slidable therein, the free ends of the piston rods 53 being rigidlyinterconnected by an upright bracket 55 which in turn is pivotallyinterconnected with the rear end of the other arm 43.

Hydraulic fluid under pressure is supplied from bank 16 through conduit57 to cylinders 49 to urge the rear ends of anns 43 apart, and throughconduit 59 to cylinders 49 to urge the rear ends of the arms 43together, thereby to effect the opening and closing of the jaws 45 and47. A manually controlled valve 61 thus controls the flow of fluidthrough conduits 57 and 59 and hence the operation of the tong 17.

A handgrip 63 is provided on the rear end of sleeve 19, to permit manualsliding of the tong horizontally between the FIGS. 4 and 6 positions.

The operation of the device will now be clear: with the parts in theFIG. 1 position, the tong 17 can be slid to the right and the jawsthereof close, to reach the FIG. 4 position. The grapple can then berotated in either direction and there will be no relative turningmovement between frame 1 and tong 17. If the rotation of the grapple isin a direction to unscrew tubing 5 from collar 6, frame 1 can be raisedby the originally described hydraulic cylinder and piston rod 13 so asto relieve the pressure on the screw threads, until the full lineposition in FIG. 2 is achieved. The tong jaws can then be opened, fromthe FIG. 4 to the FIG. 6 position and the tong slid manually back alongshaft 21, with its weight largely supported by the brackets 39 asrollers 35 roll along track 37. Of course, the operation can proceed inreverse for interconnecting tubing 5 and collar 6, it being noted thattong 17 is equally easily usable regardless of the direction of rotationof the grapple.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will beevident that all of the initially recited objects of the presentinvention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and 4 illustrated inconnection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood thatmodifications and variations may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readilyunderstand. Such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by theappended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A combined grapple and back-up tong, comprising a frame, a grapplemounted on the frame for rotation about a vertical axis, a back-up tong,means mounting the back-up tong on the frame for movement relative tothe frame radially of said axis, means for opening and closing saidback-up tong, and means on said frame holding said back-up tong againstrotation in either direction about said axis, the back-up tongcomprising a pair of arms swingable in opposite directions in a planeperpendicular to said axis, power means for swinging said arms inopposite directions, and jaws carried by the forward end of said arms,said jaws comprising a pair of first jaws pivotally connected to theforward ends of said arms, and a pair of second jaws pivotally connectedto said first jaws and pivotally connected to each other.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said arms being pivotally mounted ona sleeve, and means slidably supporting said sleeve for sliding movementtoward and away from said axis.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said power means comprising acylinder and piston assembly above said sleeve and a cylinder and pistonassembly below said sleeve, the cylinders of said assemblies beingpivotally connected to one said arm and the pistons of said assembliesbeing pivotally connected to the other said arm, and means for supplyingfluid under pressure to said cylinders to move said arms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,380,323 4/1968 Campbell8l-57.16 1,478,020 12/1923 Butler 8157.l9 3,392,609 7/1968 Bartos8l57.19 2,544,639 3/1951 Calhoun 8157.16

JAMES L. JONES, JR., Primary Examiner

